Transcript: Science teachers from around the state gathered at the University of Iowa Lindquist Center late last month to develop new curriculum for eighth grade students.

This is the Iowa Environmental Focus.

The working group was hosted by the Iowa K-12 Climate Science Education Initiative, a combined effort of the UI College of Education and the UI Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research.

The initiative seeks to implement Next Generation Science Standards which were approved by the Iowa Board of Education in 2015. Many of the new standards require students to explore how the Earth’s climate system works. University of Iowa faculty will make some science data available for Iowa students to explore and better understand their local environment.

The seven teachers in attendance worked to develop lesson plans that meet the criteria laid out by the Next Generation Science Standards.

For more information visit iowaenvironmentalfocus.org. From the UI Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, I’m Betsy Stone.